New PhytologistPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-08-28DOI: 10.1111/nph.71555
Quan Zhou, Sergei Lembinen, Tuomas Toivainen, Takeshi Kurokura, Guangxun Fan, Paula Elomaa, Elli Koskela, Timo Hytönen
{"title":"FvGI-FvCO-FvFT1 pathway activates FvTFL1 in long days to repress flowering in woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca).","authors":"Quan Zhou, Sergei Lembinen, Tuomas Toivainen, Takeshi Kurokura, Guangxun Fan, Paula Elomaa, Elli Koskela, Timo Hytönen","doi":"10.1111/nph.71555","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71555","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Photoperiod is a stable seasonal signal. Although photoperiodic flowering is well understood in short-day (SD) and long-day (LD) annual plants, the regulatory mechanisms in perennials remain elusive. In a perennial woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), flowering is induced in SDs in autumn and plants flower following spring, while in plants with mutated FvTERMINAL FLOWER1 (FvTFL1), LDs induce flowering. We investigated photoperiodic flowering of F. vesca through phenotypic and molecular characterization of transgenic lines and their crosses. We studied natural variation in flowering time and gene expression in European accessions and explored their correlations with climatic, geographical and genetic origins. We showed that FvGIGANTEA (FvGI) activates FvFLOWERING LOCUS T1 (FvFT1) via FvCONSTANS (FvCO) in LDs resulting in early flowering in fvtfl1 mutant. In natural accessions, FvFT1 activates FvTFL1 to repress flowering, and decreasing expression of FvFT1 and FvTFL1 towards colder climates in the east and north correlates with earlier flowering. We define a photoperiodic flowering pathway controlling floral transition of perennial F. vesca in autumn that differs from known mechanisms in annual and perennial plants. Our findings open new avenues to understand how perennial plants cope with changing seasons across climatic and geographical ranges.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1269-1282"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13628546/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148841765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ethylene restrains brassinosteroid-driven petal growth through RhMPK7-mediated phosphorylation of RhBZR1 in rose.","authors":"Rui Wang, Yi Guo, Yuexuan Qiu, Yunzhi Liu, Feifei Gong, Ping Li, Xue Han, Jingyi Wen, Wenfang Deng, Yueming Qin, Mingcan An, Changxi Chen, Xiaoming Sun, Cai-Zhong Jiang, Junping Gao, Yunhe Jiang","doi":"10.1111/nph.71247","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71247","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Precise control of cell expansion kinetics is fundamental to plant organogenesis. This process requires the dynamic integration of growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting signals to maintain morphological homeostasis. While brassinosteroids (BRs) promote growth via the transcription factor BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT 1 (BZR1), the mechanisms that prevent deregulated overgrowth during rapid expansion remain elusive. We find that RhBZR1 promotes rose (Rosa hybrida) petal enlargement by specifically accelerating the rate, rather than prolonging the duration, of cell expansion. Conversely, RhMPK7 functions as a key repressor of petal enlargement. RhMPK7 phosphorylates RhBZR1 at Ser-173, impairing its DNA-binding affinity and transcriptional activity; consequently, plants expressing the non-phosphorylatable RhBZR1<sup>S173A</sup> variant display significantly enlarged petals. We further show that ethylene simultaneously activates RhMPK7 and stabilizes the RhMPK7-RhBZR1 interaction. Genetic analyses confirm that RhMPK7 restricts petal expansion specifically by antagonizing RhBZR1, and this module is essential for ethylene-mediated growth suppression. These results indicate a phosphorylation-based 'speed governor' that dynamically restrains hormone-induced rapid cell expansion, offering a new paradigm for the posttranslational gating of organ size.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1181-1198"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147934734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New PhytologistPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-09-21DOI: 10.1111/nph.71572
Sandra Grünig, Marc Beringer, Christian Parisod
{"title":"Whole-genome duplication promotes phenotypic and genetic adaptation to elevation.","authors":"Sandra Grünig, Marc Beringer, Christian Parisod","doi":"10.1111/nph.71572","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71572","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Whole-genome duplication (WGD) is often considered as either an adaptive dead-end or a facilitator of rapid adaptation under changing environments. How diploids vs tetraploids out of WGD respond to selection remains, however, poorly understood. Using whole-genome sequence data and phenotypic evidence from transplant experiments of diploid and autotetraploid populations of Biscutella laevigata (Brassicaceae) sampled at low and high elevation in a factorial design, we here assessed how genomic and phenotypic variation responded to selection across elevation in each ploidal level. While all populations showed similar decay of linkage disequilibrium and synonymous genetic variation, tetraploids showed higher nonsynonymous genetic variation, consistent with relaxed purifying selection following WGD and a higher proportion of candidate loci supportive of adaptation to elevation than diploids. Despite the strong plasticity of most phenotypes in both ploidal levels, diploids maintained high fitness homeostasis across elevation, whereas genetically variable tetraploids exhibited contrasted fitness consistent with adaptation to elevation. As compared to diploids of B. laevigata that evolved adaptive phenotypic plasticity, genomic variation accumulated in tetraploids promoted a strong response to selection, refuting the prediction that WGD is an adaptive dead-end and indicating that it promotes post-WGD adaptation across heterogenous environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1620-1631"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669793/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149013213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New PhytologistPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-08-09DOI: 10.1111/nph.71491
{"title":"Correction to 'Nutrient status regulates MED19a phase separation for ORESARA1-dependent senescence'.","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/nph.71491","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71491","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1344-1345"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148701948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New PhytologistPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-08-28DOI: 10.1111/nph.71536
Emilie Fleurot, Léa Keurinck, Jean Lobry, Antonio Spanu, Marie-Claude Bel-Venner, Samuel Venner
{"title":"Oak masting under climate change: when spatially heterogeneous shifts in flowering phenology reshape pollen limitation.","authors":"Emilie Fleurot, Léa Keurinck, Jean Lobry, Antonio Spanu, Marie-Claude Bel-Venner, Samuel Venner","doi":"10.1111/nph.71536","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71536","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Masting, the irregular, synchronised production of seeds within tree populations, drives forest regeneration and ecosystem dynamics. Its response to climate change may depend on phenological shifts in key reproductive stages, yet this link remains poorly understood. Using 30 yr of daily airborne pollen data from 20 temperate oak populations (Quercus petraea and Q. robur), we examined the relationship between shifts in pollen phenology and pollen limitation (estimated from annual pollen concentration). We analysed how these changes were driven by site-specific weather trends during the forcing and diffusion periods. Pollen phenology advanced overall, while pollen limitation decreased. On average, pollen concentration nearly doubled in 30 yr (+93%) yet with striking contrasts among populations. During the study period, late-flowering populations experienced significant warming during the preseason period, leading to earlier phenology but stable pollen concentration. Conversely, early-flowering populations saw little change in preseason temperatures or phenology but experienced sharp warming during the diffusion period, resulting in a strong increase in pollen concentration. These findings demonstrate that heterogeneous local climate trends induce divergent pollen phenology and pollen limitation trajectories, reshaping reproductive conditions differently among populations. Consequently, oak masting and forest regeneration success may respond differently across populations under continued climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1314-1326"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13628536/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148841699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An ABA/auxin regulatory module controlled by nitrogen governs symbiotic organogenesis in the bryophyte species Ricciocarpos natans.","authors":"Xinyi Liao, Danial Hassani, Yi Lu, Chao Shen, Chongwen Shen, Kaiyan Zhang, Yixuan Li, Bing Ni, You-Liang Xiang, Jiahao Shen, Pan Li, Ning-Jing Liu, Yan Sha, Zhao Dong, Shaokai Yang, Feng Li, Rui-Liang Zhu, Qiong Zhao","doi":"10.1111/nph.71559","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71559","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the terrestrialization of plants c. 470 Ma, overcoming nitrogen limitation was a major evolutionary challenge. While nonvascular plants may acquire nitrogen through rhizoids and surface diffusion, symbiotic interactions likely provide an important strategy to overcome nitrogen limitation. This study reveals that the amphibious liverwort Ricciocarpos natans (an extant bryophyte lineage) undergoes nitrogen-driven organogenesis. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, the plant reprograms its development to form specialized scales, creating symbiotic niches. The formation of these symbiotic scales is activated by a nitrogen-sensing mechanism that suppresses the abscisic acid (ABA) and auxin signaling pathways. This hormonal reprogramming promotes an aquatic morphology with robust scales while suppressing the terrestrial form. These specialized scales likely support colonization by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, exemplified here using the model diazotroph Rhodopseudomonas palustris, demonstrating the capacity of ventral scales to function as symbiotic niches that enhance host nitrogen acquisition. This discovery identifies a nitrogen-responsive, scale-associated symbiotic strategy in Ricciocarpos natans (Marchantiales), providing comparative insight into how nonvascular plants adapt to nitrogen limitation and offering mechanistic clues regarding microbial recruitment pathways in plant-microbe interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1149-1165"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148901380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The H3K27me3 reader GmLHP1 impairs Phytophthora sojae resistance by repressing ethylene precursor accumulation in soybean.","authors":"Xin Fang, Wenhao Ni, Jingcan Sun, Jiaxin Yin, Xudong Wei, Meng Liu, Gengpu Zhang, Yan Sun, Xiran Wang, Xiaoyu Chen, Kexin Ma, Shuo Wang, Kexin Li, Jiapeng Tong, Hong Gao, Chuanzhong Zhang, Junjiang Wu, Pengfei Xu, Shuzhen Zhang","doi":"10.1111/nph.71550","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71550","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phytophthora root rot, caused by Phytophthora sojae, is a devastating soilborne disease of soybean (Glycine max). However, the epigenetic regulation of soybean responses to P. sojae remains incompletely understood. Here, using genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches, we characterized the functions of LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 (GmLHP1) and its downstream regulatory network. We demonstrated that GmLHP1, as a reader of H3K27me3, negatively regulates soybean resistance to P. sojae. GmLHP1 binds to H3K27me3 peptides in vitro and colocalizes with H3K27me3 marks genome-wide in vivo. The integrated chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and RNA sequencing analysis identified the ethylene biosynthesis pathway gene 1-AMINO-CYCLOPROPANE-1-CARBOXYLATE SYNTHASE 18 (GmACS18) as being enriched for H3K27me3 and bound by GmLHP1, leading to its transcriptional downregulation. Notably, GmLHP1 associates with the GmACS18 promoter by directly binding to AATTAA motifs and recognizing H3K27me3 marks. Moreover, GmACS18 enhances defense against P. sojae by accumulating the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). Further analysis unveiled that recognition of H3K27me3 by GmLHP1 is essential for regulating soybean resistance to P. sojae through repressing GmACS18 transcription and decreasing ACC accumulation. Our findings reveal a novel epigenetic regulatory mechanism in which the H3K27me3 reader GmLHP1 blocks soybean resistance to P. sojae by repressing ethylene precursor ACC accumulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1199-1214"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New PhytologistPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-06-19DOI: 10.1111/nph.71365
Jill M Love, Kathleen G Ferris
{"title":"Phenotypic plasticity is broadly adaptive across an elevation gradient in the Cutleaf Monkeyflower.","authors":"Jill M Love, Kathleen G Ferris","doi":"10.1111/nph.71365","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71365","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phenotypic plasticity is a key mechanism by which organisms cope with environmental heterogeneity, but its evolutionary consequences depend on how plastic responses align with the broader adaptive landscape. We tested whether plasticity in leaf shape is associated with differential fitness across an elevational gradient in Mimulus laciniatus, an annual wildflower endemic to montane California. Using a reciprocal transplant experiment and recombinant inbred lines (RILs) previously phenotyped for plasticity in controlled conditions, we measured variation in survival and fecundity in native low- and high-elevation habitats. Based on previous work, we expected to find selection against leaf shape plasticity at low elevations and selection for leaf shape plasticity in the high-elevation direction (increased leaf lobing under long-day conditions) at high elevations. However, plastic RILs outperformed nonplastic genotypes at all elevations. We found that RIL genotypes exhibiting high-elevation plasticity were most likely to set seed at high elevations, but low-elevation plasticity (increased leaf lobing under short-day conditions) was associated with greater seed number (fecundity) across elevations. This pattern suggests that plasticity is broadly beneficial across M. laciniatus's geographic range and that the direction of plasticity is subject to locally varying selection.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1645-1659"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669800/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148284584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
New PhytologistPub Date : 2026-11-01Epub Date: 2026-09-04DOI: 10.1111/nph.71501
Sergio Perez-Limón, Ana Laura Alonso-Nieves, M Rosario Ramírez-Flores, G Carolina Cintora-Martínez, M Nancy Salazar-Vidal, Jorge Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez, Jessica Carcaño-Macías, Melanie G Perryman, Oliver H S Paulson, Jagdeep S Sidhu, Peng Yu, Victor Llaca, Kevin A Fengler, Forrest Li, Daniel E Runcie, Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, C Stewart Gillmor, Rubén Rellán-Álvarez, Ruairidh J H Sawers
{"title":"The MexMAGIC population reveals the genetic architecture of traits exhibiting clinal variation in Mexican native maize.","authors":"Sergio Perez-Limón, Ana Laura Alonso-Nieves, M Rosario Ramírez-Flores, G Carolina Cintora-Martínez, M Nancy Salazar-Vidal, Jorge Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez, Jessica Carcaño-Macías, Melanie G Perryman, Oliver H S Paulson, Jagdeep S Sidhu, Peng Yu, Victor Llaca, Kevin A Fengler, Forrest Li, Daniel E Runcie, Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, C Stewart Gillmor, Rubén Rellán-Álvarez, Ruairidh J H Sawers","doi":"10.1111/nph.71501","DOIUrl":"10.1111/nph.71501","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Defining the genetic basis of local adaptation is a key goal of evolutionary biology and crop improvement. Theory predicts that when selective pressures follow differences in the environment, a cline will be established. Clines can be exploited to uncover adaptive variation by association of alleles with the environment. However, monotonic phenotypic change over a cline is not necessarily mirrored in the behavior of genetic variants and population structure can further complicate analysis. To study genetic and phenotypic variation across the environment, we developed a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population using eight Mexican native maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays) varieties sourced from distinct agroecological zones. We evaluated the population in a common garden in Mexico and mapped tassel branching and flowering time, two traits that exhibit clinal variation. Variation in tassel branching was dominated by a single QTL with allele effects aligning to a negative elevational cline. By contrast, allele effects associated with 11 identified flowering time QTL were not consistently correlated with any one source environmental factor. Our observations support the prediction that genotype-environment association will be strongest under simple genetic architecture, although, even then, analysis in native populations may be confounded by population structure.</p>","PeriodicalId":48887,"journal":{"name":"New Phytologist","volume":" ","pages":"1296-1313"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2026-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13628542/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148892725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}